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A new year brings new possibilities. Not to mention the fact that the UFC is being intentional in its global international expansion which could mean going hard after some of these very marketable guys. Could we see these guys in the UFC in 2009? Their names have been linked to the UFC recently. Check out the possibilities.

Mirko Cro Cop – says he wants a farewell fight in the UFC, probably would be late in 2009. Click here for more

Satoshi Ishii – is in exclusive negotiations with the UFC. He won’t debut in the UFC, but the UFC will help with his training and development. The 2008 Olympic Judo gold medalist will be in the UFC in some way barring a failure in his debut. It is likely that he would be on TUF 10 which may featue heavyweights.

Alistair Overeem – Has been linked to negotionations with the UFC and will be at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland. Check it out here.

Jeff Monson – He may fight once more in Japan or he may come straight over to the UFC. I know there was talk about a Monson vs. Kongo match. He is a great grappler which would be a good add to the heavyweight division and a tough fight for Kongo.

Mike Russow – He is rough around the edges but he could be a good prospect

Bobby Lashley – His only 1-0 in MMA, but he looked impressive a la Brock Lesnar. He just signed a 2 fight deal with PFC and if all goes well there we could see Lashley in the UFC by late 2009. He could have a big impact and be a big crowd draw. Knock him all you want, but he has potential and he really thinks he could hang with guys like Lesnar already.

Keep an eye on: Dave Herman and Brett Rogers

Light Heavyweights:

Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante – He has made it no secret that his ultimate goal is the UFC. How soon he gets there will depend on the future of ProElite. It could be 2009.

Antwain Britt – I do not know how much thought there is to signing Britt, but he looked good in his TUF 8 fight-on fight. He was forced off due to injury and has looked good sense. It may be wise to lock him up.

Keep an eye on: Muhammad Lawal and Robert Drysdale

Middeliweights

Robbie Lawler – He is the EliteXC champ. I would say since he is widely viewed as the number 2 middleweight in the world that he may be offered a good contract in the UFC provided EliteXC dies.

Joey Villasenor – Following the collapse of EliteXC, Villasenor was one who mentioned his desire to fight in the UFC. The status of ProElite is the barrier here. He could end up in the UFC, but watch for Bellator and Affliction to make runs at Smokin’ Joe.

Yoshihiro Akiyama – Many think he is a top 10 middleweight in the world. He could come over to the UFC since it was reported he was in negotionations with Sengoku and UFC. Then is came out that negotionations with Sengoku broke down. That may be a clue…or it may not

David Louiseau – A couple of wins since leaving the UFC and Louiseau finds himself knocking on the UFC door again. He may be signed for the next Canada card, but he may need one more win. Nevertheless, look for the former number 1 contender to be given another chance.

Welterweights

Jake Shields – He has made no bones about it that he wants in the UFC and that he wants a fight with Georges St. Pierre. Right now the UFC is the only place for a welterweight to go to really test themselves. One more time ProElite is an issue here, but I am confident that eventually Shields will fight in the UFC.

Paul Daley – Daley said in a recent interview that he expects to be in the UFC in 2009. He must clear his contract with ProElite first. He is a tough English fighter who could be a good add as the UFC looks to expand worldwide.

Phil Baroni – He is re-invented at 170 lbs. In a recent interview with FiveOuncesofPain Baroni said he would like to be in the UFC in 2009. I think he could get a chance. He may need one or two more wins though. Baroni has said he is tired of being a “journeyman” which means he may want to fight for a US based organization.

T.J. Grant – He has been called the best Canadian not in a major organization. I look for the UFC to snatch him up. The UFc wants to push in Canada and Grant is a good prospect. He may be signed sooner than later as the UFC will be in Canada several times in 2009.

Lightweight

Gilbert Melendez- He has one more fight left with Strikeforce, which should come by March. Then I look for him to hit the free agent market. His next fight could determine his value. A win could make him worthwhile. He has mentioned the UFC in several interviews as a possible home.

The UFC addes several prospects in 2008. Look for more guys to burst onto the scene in 2009. Some have already been signed and will make their debut in 2009 such as Denis Kang, Ronnys Torrys, Stefan Struve, Neil Grove, John Howard, etc.

I look for about half these guys to sign in the UFC and I expect some surprises which could be dictated by the futures of Affliction and ProElite as well as the quality of TUF competitors.

I am pretty sure these guys are on the UFC’s radar. Obviously these guys could get into the UFC and have a career there. They would all be good adds. Some of the UFC future signings depends on things like the future of ProElite and Affliction.

Jeff Monson

Nickname

Snowman

Weight class

Heavyweight

MMA Record

27-8

Ranking

Credentials

·UFC veteran

·World class grappler

Mike Russow

Nickname

Weight class

Heavyweight

MMA Record

11-1

Ranking

Credentials

·Solid heavyweight prospect

Alistair Overeem

Nickname

Demolition Man

Weightclass

Heavyweight

MMA Record

29-11

Ranking

Credentials

·Good name recognition

·Good all around fighter

Mirko Filipovic

Nickname

Cro Cop

Weightclass

Heavyweight

MMA Record

23-6-2

Ranking

Credentials

·A legend in the sport

·Huge popularity (would be great for the Germany card)

·Great striking ability

Rafael Cavalcante

Nickname

Feijao

Weight class

Light Heavyweight

MMA Record

7-1

Ranking

Credentials

·One of the best light heavyweight prospects

·Trains with Anderson Silva and Nogueiras

Antwain Britt

Nickname

The Juggernaut

Weight class

Light Heavyweight

MMA Record

Ranking

Credentials

·TUF 8 cast member who won his way into the house, but an injury forced him out

Here are the best non-UFC fighters. This shows where the UFC is stacked and where they lack. There competition is mainly in Affliction at heavyweight and DREAM at lightweight. Here are the best non-UFC guys that the UFC should look to sign if possible.

5. Forrest Griffin over Quinton Jackson – Not just that Forrest got the win, but that it was unanimous. Many, including me scored the fight either a draw or to Jackson

4. Brandon Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum- Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight in round 1 when Werdum was mounted on Vera throwing down punches. There was just 10 seconds remaining and Vera seemed to be defending himself well.

3. Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites — Leites got the win, but lost the fight. He lost the fight due to two points taken away from Marquardt. One point was justified, but the other was due to elbow to the back of the ehad that wasn’t to the back of the head. I will confess, that another point could have fairly been deducted for an illegal slam, but I hated to see Marquardt get a loss on his record that I feel he won

2. Phantom split decisions — How was Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove a split deicsion? How was Heath Herring vs Cheick Kongo a split decision? The right person got the decision, but how was it split?

1. Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson – Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight in the 3rd round while Thompson was still standing and failed to stop it when Thompson was mounted on Kimbo raining down elbows

When PRIDE fell they were clearly the biggest competitors with the UFC, having many of MMA’s top guys. They had some big time stars. Then PRIDE got into trouble and was bought by Zuffa. So who benefited the most from PRIDE’s deminse? There was a mad scramble to sign those guys who were now unemployed. I have been critical of the UFC’s ability to sign top PRIDE guys like Fedor, Gomi, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Arona, Kang, Mousasi, Melendez, etc. However, it looks like the UFC has done great due to PRIDE’s fall. I ranked the PRIDE guys at the time of their collapse in order of who I would want to sign and the UFC benefited from it. Now, the guys they have signed haven;t had huge success, but they are popular and will win eventually. Can you imagine the UFC heavyweight divison without the influx of Nogueira, Werdum, and Herring??? The light heavyweight divison also was greatly boosted with the signings of Shogun, Wanderlei, Dan Henderson, Nakamura, and Sokoudjou. UFC just struggles to get the lightweights. UFC signed 13 of those guys I listed and they have faired well, this doesn’t even include other guys who came in before the fall of PRIDE like “Rampage” Jackson. Out of those guys you have some stars now in the UFC, some guys that can draw a crowd and one of them owns the belt (Nogueira). DREAM and Affliction seemed to clean up what UFC couldn’t sign. DREAM picked up the ligtweights, signing 8 of those PRIDE guys. Affliction has a few signings. So while I am critical of the UFC, let us give Dana and the UFC brass some credit for signing many of the top PRIDE guys. I still would like to see the best of the best in one place, but it won’t happen, so this puts things into perspective and the UFC did good and benefited the most from PRIDE’s fall.